Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record
Mercury (Hg) is increasing in marine food webs, especially at high latitudes. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of methyl mercury (MeHg) has serious effects on wildlife, and is most evident in apex predators. The MeHg body burden in birds is the balance of ingestion and excretion, and MeHg in...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/cgi/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
id |
ftuhipublicatio:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftuhipublicatio:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 2024-06-23T07:49:49+00:00 Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record Bond, A. L. Hobson, K. A. Branfireun, B. A. 2015-03-18 https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/cgi/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 eng eng https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Bond , A L , Hobson , K A & Branfireun , B A 2015 , ' Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record ' , Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences , vol. 282 , no. 1805 , pp. 20150032-20150032 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 7ref2021 article 2015 ftuhipublicatio https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 2024-05-27T23:51:24Z Mercury (Hg) is increasing in marine food webs, especially at high latitudes. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of methyl mercury (MeHg) has serious effects on wildlife, and is most evident in apex predators. The MeHg body burden in birds is the balance of ingestion and excretion, and MeHg in feathers is an effective indicator of overall MeHg burden. Ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea), which consume ice-associated prey and scavenge marine mammal carcasses, have the highest egg Hg concentrations of any Arctic bird, and the species has declined by more than 80% since the 1980s in Canada. We used feathers from museum specimens from the Canadian Arctic and western Greenland to assess whether exposure to MeHg by ivory gulls increased from 1877 to 2007. Based on constant feather stable-isotope (δ13C, δ15N) values, there was no significant change in ivory gulls' diet over this period, but feather MeHg concentrations increased 45× (from 0.09 to 4.11 µg g−1 in adults). This dramatic change in the absence of a dietary shift is clear evidence of the impact of anthropogenic Hg on this high-latitude threatened species. Bioavailable Hg is expected to increase in the Arctic, raising concern for continued population declines in high-latitude species that are far from sources of environmental contaminants. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greenland ivory gull Pagophila eburnea University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI Arctic Canada Greenland Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282 1805 20150032 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI |
op_collection_id |
ftuhipublicatio |
language |
English |
topic |
7ref2021 |
spellingShingle |
7ref2021 Bond, A. L. Hobson, K. A. Branfireun, B. A. Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
topic_facet |
7ref2021 |
description |
Mercury (Hg) is increasing in marine food webs, especially at high latitudes. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of methyl mercury (MeHg) has serious effects on wildlife, and is most evident in apex predators. The MeHg body burden in birds is the balance of ingestion and excretion, and MeHg in feathers is an effective indicator of overall MeHg burden. Ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea), which consume ice-associated prey and scavenge marine mammal carcasses, have the highest egg Hg concentrations of any Arctic bird, and the species has declined by more than 80% since the 1980s in Canada. We used feathers from museum specimens from the Canadian Arctic and western Greenland to assess whether exposure to MeHg by ivory gulls increased from 1877 to 2007. Based on constant feather stable-isotope (δ13C, δ15N) values, there was no significant change in ivory gulls' diet over this period, but feather MeHg concentrations increased 45× (from 0.09 to 4.11 µg g−1 in adults). This dramatic change in the absence of a dietary shift is clear evidence of the impact of anthropogenic Hg on this high-latitude threatened species. Bioavailable Hg is expected to increase in the Arctic, raising concern for continued population declines in high-latitude species that are far from sources of environmental contaminants. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bond, A. L. Hobson, K. A. Branfireun, B. A. |
author_facet |
Bond, A. L. Hobson, K. A. Branfireun, B. A. |
author_sort |
Bond, A. L. |
title |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_short |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_full |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_fullStr |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_sort |
rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/cgi/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland ivory gull Pagophila eburnea |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland ivory gull Pagophila eburnea |
op_source |
Bond , A L , Hobson , K A & Branfireun , B A 2015 , ' Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record ' , Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences , vol. 282 , no. 1805 , pp. 20150032-20150032 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
op_relation |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/dd3c2e5c-180c-4c20-a52e-be06f5525957 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
282 |
container_issue |
1805 |
container_start_page |
20150032 |
_version_ |
1802640491278237696 |